No, I’m not describing my politics, belief system, or aimless blonde wanderings, though I have all that. Maybe more than most… But this is a blast from the past, a winter’s storm blast.
Today’s tale is about my first venture at the famed Taos Ski Resort where, as I always do, I veered left. The influencer of choice is my husband the leftie. “Left is Best” as guide at the fork in the road, er ski trail.
Snowflakes pelted my face as my husband and I sluiced forward, fully outfitted for the ski day. Sublime anticipation awaiting adrenaline rush. Throngs of similarly outfitted skiers emerged from the lodge, ready for a great day. Murmurs here, a dropped glove there, buzzing like bees into the still air.
Thank goodness a tour guide stood in the middle of the ten-foot wide entrance path. If he – backwards on skis to face the several who’d amassed the traverse from the lodge – hadn’t intervened, this descent into hell is what I’d have been funneled into: a double black diamond ski run.
Actually, I’d have sat, splat, and waited for the ski patrol to air lift me back to the lodge, a no-fault fall. Bor-ring, but safe. Yeah for great snow!
So much for enjoying a day of cavalier abandon. My husband and I side-stepped to the blue run. Safety! Bliss in the snow! Swish!
btw, this post was precipitated by a rainy day in SoCal, where the state’s ski resorts have record amounts of snow. In northern California Lake Oroville, one of the many that almost disappeared in our several-year drought, was overfilled – with enough water to cover the state of Connecticut with a foot of water, it was reported… But wait, there’s more!
Precipitous glory: rain for the plants and people. Revenue for the mountain ski resorts. I reside, safe and warm and snug in my hilltop home, and this memory flashed. Though beaucoup water has fallen, our home didn’t veer left/right, slide down the hill, just as I didn’t years ago in snow. I’d find fault with our shelter and safety net’s fall.
Yeah for great end to disastrous drought! Yeah for years of skiing with no broken bones.